The Divine Armor of the Old Century（Book 1）

Chapter 179

The train roared to life, cutting through the pale landscape. Icy winds, sharp with snowflakes, fell relentlessly. Salieu tightened her coat, her gaze filled with complex emotions as she looked at the demon hunter beside her.

Lloyd glanced at his watch one last time. Everything was still on track. Breathing lightly, the secret blood within him surged, healing his wounds.

Perhaps it was the brutality of their recent actions that haunted Salieu. She could still recall that horrific scene vividly. She ignored Lloyd, and he did the same to her. In the cold wind, they remained in silent contemplation.

Gazing into the distance, the heavy snowfall covered everything in a vast, white ocean. This was the coldest time in the northern reaches of Yelvig. The freezing winds roared, carrying snowflakes that encrusted the train in ice.

By this time, the train had traveled dozens of kilometers from Old Dunling. Tall trees, buried in snow, marked this remote wilderness where only nature's predators roamed.

"Come, Salieu," Lloyd said, motioning her to approach. But before she could react, he scooped her up. The bloodstains on his clothes had frozen, giving off a faint, pungent smell.

"It's coming," he said, his voice barely audible over the rising wail of a distant train whistle, like the moan of a colossal whale.

A train? Another train? Salieu wondered as the blizzard's curtain turned a deep gray.

Boom!

Black steel tore through the snow curtain. The heavy machinery's clanking resonated as steam mingled with the swirling snow, creating delicate white lines. It emerged like a monster from a forbidden storybook, breaking free from its constraints.

The path it forged was buried in snow, sending waves of it several meters high. It was a pitch-black train, larger than usual, entirely covered in dark metal, resembling a serpent slithering across the land.

Lloyd was reminded of the Glorious, a modified armed train by the Purification Agency. This newly emerged train was similar but primarily used for transporting goods.

"Our current route is just a ruse," Lloyd explained to Salieu. "It won't reach the true 'North.' It'll stop at a newly built town several kilometers away. Only that train can take us to the real North."

This was the actual transport route.

"Reverend Lawrence has allied with the remnants. The best way to evade their pursuit is to be unpredictable. Clearly, they couldn't anticipate my plans. Otherwise, those lackeys wouldn't have been all I faced earlier."

"So your hijacking was spur-of-the-moment?" Salieu asked.

"...At least it disrupted their plans," Lloyd replied, avoiding a direct answer. He didn't mention the most crucial point: Reverend Lawrence's eerie ability to traverse the "Gaps." In a crowd, his power would be maximized.

This was why Lloyd suddenly took Salieu away, to escape the masses. If only Lloyd and Salieu were within a few kilometers, Lawrence had only two choices: corrupt Salieu directly or find a way to eliminate Lloyd first.

Salieu nodded, half-understanding.

"So... what next?" she asked.

"Switch trains," Lloyd said.

"Switch trains?" Salieu was visibly confused, but before she could voice her questions, Lloyd grabbed her by the waist and leapt like a cannonball.

The scenery blurred past, and the wind howled in her ears. Instinctively, Salieu clung to Lloyd as the ground rapidly approached.

In the next moment, they crashed into the snow, sending up a flurry of flakes. Lloyd wasted no time; the moment he landed, he sprinted with superhuman speed.

Only then did Salieu realize what switching trains meant. The demon hunter was indeed straightforward in some aspects.

But a strange feeling arose... She found it amusing, like riding an eccentric little horse galloping joyfully in the snow, except this horse could bite someone's head off in one chomp.

Lloyd, however, wouldn't comprehend the girl's thoughts.

The demon hunter dashed forward, leaping at the nearest point where the trains crossed. This might seem impossible for an average person, but for a demon hunter, it was feasible. With a powerful leap, Lloyd swung his weapon, wedging his blade into the gap of the train. Using this leverage, he flipped onto the train, landing at the junction between two cars.

"Alright," Lloyd said, setting Salieu down. She cautiously stood on the steel, wary of falling.

"Damn it! What's going on?" Lloyd cursed as Salieu stared at the swiftly passing tracks below. He seemed irritated.

The key slid into the lock, but the internal mechanism, likely frozen from the cold, wouldn't budge. Lloyd pounded the door several times before it finally opened.

Outside, the wind howled; inside, it was warm as spring.

"Rest now, the journey is still long," Lloyd said, closing the iron door, shutting out the cold.

Salieu inspected the interior. It was like a warehouse, with goods piled in the corners. In her mind, a train carrying vital resources should be heavily guarded. Yet Lloyd had boarded it with ease, and no one seemed to be guarding it.

Aside from the faint engine hum, it seemed only Salieu and Lloyd were there. For some reason, it felt like a speeding coffin on tracks.

As Salieu pondered, Lloyd tossed her some bread.

"Eat up, you'll need the energy to work for me!" he said, his tone unexpectedly cheerful, catching Salieu off guard.

"Bread?" Salieu was puzzled. Then Lloyd threw her a blanket.

Holding the blanket, Salieu looked confused.

"A blanket too?"

"Maybe they also thought the North was a bit cold," Lloyd said nonchalantly. He seemed strange, as if anticipating something.

Seeing his reluctance to explain, Salieu didn't press further. She sat in a corner, wrapped herself in the blanket, and listened to the low rumbling, awaiting the journey's end.

The train moved silently through the raging snowstorm, diverging from the previous train's path, heading ever northward. Shadows followed closely, their faint howls echoing like distant dogs until the journey's end.